The Deputy Mounts the Outlaw
by StarPotterTwilightHunger
Summary: I wanted to write an epic with a romance between Darius and Katniss. This is what I came up with. Enjoy!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The winters since Haymitch's Victory Tour have been long and dark. Add in the coal plumes from the mines consistently blotting out the sun, and it's easy to see why my normally blonde hair has turned to a dark brown. My name is Cassiope Fletch and I am the Victor of the 16th Annual Hunger Games.

It is a quiet night when I hear a knock at my door. When I answer it to find the handsome red headed Peacekeeper on the other side, I smile.

"Adam! What news?"

"Some good, some bad. But the worst of it is that Lark Everdeen has passed away."

My face falls. Lark... "Oh... He has a grandchild now, doesn't he? Katniss?"

"Yes, and it looks like she will be a real beauty. Few months old and Lillian and Estes are very pleased. Anyway, I know how it must feel."

I nod tightly. "Of course. Losing your wife two years ago... and how is your son? Darius? He looks just like you."

Adam nods. "Adorable. Always wants to see my tools and he's only two."

I nod. "It must be hard, raising him and all alone."

"It's better than you. Alone with no family for decades."

I smile, enjoying the banter. Adam has voiced these concerns before. "I'm not alone. I've got Haymitch."

"... who is drunk most of the time, poor boy, so that's kind of like being alone. It hurts me, to see you like this." He takes a deep breath, almost like he's gathering his courage. "Which is why I want to suggest something."

I give a shaky laugh and smile. "Oh... OK."

Adam suddenly takes my hand. "Would you consider marrying me?" He starts to get down on one knee, but I stop him, in total shock. A proposal?

"I couldn't have children," I half-warn, half-excuse him. "I'm too old... 58..."

Adam seems encouraged that I didn't immediately didn't give an explicit No, so his voice takes on new encouragement. "I don't care about that. I have Darius."

"I don't want to put a bigger target on your back," I protest. "That is all you would get being married to a Victor."

"I already have a target on my back. I'm from 12, and I love this land. Do you know how few District citizens are enlisted as Peacekeepers?" He's right with that one, very few District citizens are hired into the Peacekeepers' ranks. Most are from the Capitol and are trained to show mistrust for all the common people. "It wouldn't have to be the way you're thinking. We... we could keep it a secret."

"Then we'd be living a lie," I tell him sadly. "I couldn't do that. Could you, Adam?"

"I would do anything for you, Miss Fletch."

I blink. "Anything?" His devotion touches me. And so I kiss him. I slip my tongue into his mouth and massage him there and let him touch my body.

When we break apart, I rest my forehead against his.

"Yes," I finally relent. "Come by late tonight after your patrol. I'll have the bread ready."

* * *

Haymitch is the only guest. I don't own a bridal gown, as I never planned to marry, being a Victor and one who normally followed the Code. Only a simple white dress, but it will do.

Adam stops by after his patrol. Haymitch seems surprised by my choice for a husband, but since it's someone who isn't at all like the other guards, he approves.

But I still guard against what I am about to break in one way. And it is to protect this man who has always carried a torch for me. Even after we toast the bread, and Adam kisses me - his bride - I tell him, "The toast is all we need to be married. No documents to sign from the Justice Building. Nothing on the record. Just us."

We intend to keep it a secret

* * *

Adam only stays in my mansion and sleeps with me on some nights. All other nights, he is at his home with Darius.

But that does not stop the Peacekeepers.

When Greasy Sae comes to me in a panic and tells me a Peacekeeper has been murdered in the Justice Building, I go white as a sheet. For I already know who it is. Adam. My husband who married me and lay with me in bed - a Victor - and in doing so, damned himself.

I send Haymitch to investigate. Being Victors, he and I are the only ones who can go into the Justice Building and no one will bother with us.

I stumble about my house and take a shot of Prozac with the needle, to get high. With my husband gone, I no longer care what happens to me. Too many have died for me. Enough is enough!

Remembering the gun Adam left me, I take it out and load it and aim it. After a generation, I will finally be free! I fire.

Little do I realize that someone is now sprinting across the District back to me...

I am still on the floor when I hear my door thrown open. "No! Cassiope..."

Haymitch's arms go about me. "What have you done, Cass? Why?"

"Carry on... where I've failed."

"Please... don't die!"

"You can do this, Haymitch. You're here now."

And I slip away as I hear Haymitch scream: "NOOO! No..."


	2. Chapter 1: Lotta People Try to Grab Me

**Chapter 1: Lotta People Try to Grab Me**

It's another busy day in the Hob. I am weaving through the crowd in my blue Reaping dress that is a hand-me-down from my mother's. My normal hunting wear is in the laundry, and I won't get it back until tomorrow.

I finish my standard sale with Greasy Sae, and am just turning to leave when a Peacekeeper blocks my way. "And where's a pretty little thing like you going in such a hurry?"

I gulp. "Move aside, please. I have to get home."

"Not until we have a little fun," the Peacekeeper grins. He puts his arms around my waist and forcibly kisses me. His hands wander as he audaciously grabs my butt through my skirt.

"Mmmm!" I squeal, trying to push him away.

"Give someone else a chance!" a Seam miner calls, and I feel him come up behind me, trapping me between the two men. Hands grab and squeeze my breasts. I try to elbow the guy in the stomach, but my arms are pinned to my side by the Peacekeeper's embrace.

I wish I could say this is an extraordinary occurrence, but it isn't. I may only be 16 years old, but apparently I am one of the most beautiful women in District 12. Many men have lusted after me, or made a pass at me, or sexually harassed me. All in vain, because I would never allow myself to be seduced that way. I will never marry, or sleep with any man. Never!

Suddenly, both sets of groping hands are torn away, and I hear scuffling and shouts. I quickly touch myself, even though my clothes have not really been disturbed, as if that will cleanse me of the groping that has just occurred. Meanwhile, I see a flash of red hair and blue eyes throwing punches that send the miner and Peacekeeper running. Darius Pontipee, a kindly Peacekeeper whom I have befriended in recent years and always pays me handsomely for my kills.

"Let's go," he tells me, and he leads me by the hand past the gawking onlookers out of the Hob and back into town. Thank goodness he showed up when he did. I was going to head to his place to make a trade, anyway. I used to do that with his father, who often bought my squirrels.

"I'm fine, Darius, really," I try to shrug it off, a little ashamed that he caught me in such a compromising position.

"He should not have been grabbing at you like that, Katniss," and I am surprised to hear Darius's voice shake with rage. "Neither of them!"

"A lot of people try to grab me!" I shrug off, adjusting the shoulder of my dress.

"It's still wrong! No woman should be touched like that, least of all you! You should be treated like a queen, like your body is a piece of glass or 14-karat gold!" Peeta passionately says.

I blink in amazement. "Wow, Darius. That was really sweet."

We make our trade for squirrels. Darius offers to escort me home, just in case, but I turn down his kind offer. I encounter no other men as I walk home to the Seam.


	3. Chapter 2: Meat for Kisses

**Chapter 2: Meat for Kisses**

The snow flurries swirl around me as I head up to the Hob. Underneath my coat, I wear the old blue dress from my mother's Merchant days.

Tonight is the annual New Year's Eve party in the Hob. We Seam folk gather to walk the clock strike midnight and ring in the New Year. It is one of the few moments of happiness we enjoy.

I have never been one for parties, but my mother encouraged me to go out. Well, ordered might be a better word. Even though I'm only sixteen, my mother is forcing me to find a husband and marry. At least who it is will be left to my choice. Arranged marriages are common in District 12. I doubt anyone would want to be a suitor to me, though.

Upon entering the Hob, I spy Gale over at Ripper's bar and take a seat beside him. After small talk and a round or two of shots, we are joined by a certain ginger-haired fellow.

"Hello, Katniss," he smiles a million-watt grin.

"Hello, Darius," I smile politely at the unusually friendly Peacekeeper.

Upon my salutation, Darius buys me an unsolicited drink and engages me in conversation. The young Peacekeeper is known to be something of a flirt in our town - a trait that resurfaces when he ponders, "Now what might be a fair trade for a free shot of whiskey?"

I shake my head with a smile. "I can't even imagine."

"How about a kiss?" He leans in close to me and grins. "Tis the season, after all; I bet there are still sprigs of mistletoe hanging about."

I let out a bark of laughter and playfully shove him away. "No, thanks."

"Why not? I tell you, Katniss, my kisses are the most sought-after in the District!"

This gets my attention and I smirk. "Oh yeah? With who?"

Darius points out women to me. "Why, the flower seller with the green muffler. Oh, and the milkman's wife! I have plenty of references in these parts."

Gale begins to hoot with laughter as he rises and pays for his drink. "Keep talking, Darius! You'll never get a peck outta her!" And he heads off to dance with Madge Undersee, the Mayor's daughter.


	4. Chapter 3: Reaped

**Chapter 3: Reaped**

I stand in the mirror, observing myself in my blue Reaping dress, a relic from my mother's Merchant days. Mother stands behind me and nods with simple satisfaction. "Now, you look beautiful, too."

"I wish I looked like you," Prim says.

"Oh no! I wish I looked like you, little duck!"

My family and I head for the square. Today is the Reaping for the 74th Annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death between twenty-four tributes from the 12 districts of Panem until there is only one left to be a Victor and mentor future tributes.

As I am sorted into the 16-year-olds, I see Darius off to the side. I wonder if he has been assigned to set up a perimeter and make sure that everyone has attended. Missing the Reaping is punishable by death.

Mayor Undersee recites the Dark Days speech. Then he lists the names of past District 12 Victors: two measy names in 73 years.

"The Victor of the 16th Hunger Games: Cassiope Fletch!" I only know that she died just after I was born. But she is legendary. Rumors to this day persist that she broke the Victor's Code - a rule that forbids attachment from Victors - and married. Toasted the bread. And not just with anybody. A Peacekeeper!

"The Victor of the 50th Hunger Games, or Second Quarter Quell: Haymitch Abernathy!" Unfortunately, Haymitch is still very much alive, and a drunk besides. He falls off the stage trying to wave to the crowd.

Effie Trinket, our district escort from the Capitol now takes the stage and pulls from the Girls' Reaping Ball.

"Primrose Everdeen!"

I am Reaped for the 74th Annual Hunger Games. I volunteer to save my sister, Primrose. Gale, my hunting partner, is chosen to go in with me.

After my family says goodbye, I don't expect any more visitors. So I am shocked when the door opens to reveal Darius. I think he has come to take me to the train, but he merely closes the door behind him instead.

"I thought you would be on duty," I say.

"I'm not," he tells me. "I wanted to say goodbye to you." He runs my arm soothingly, along the fabric of my mother's old blue dress. "You have to win, Katniss. I wish both you and Gale could come back."

I am surprised. I could never explain it, but I always thought Darius was jealous of Gale, for some reason.

I think back to that request for a kiss at the New Years' Eve party, and I chuckle. "How about that kiss right about now?"

It's meant as a joke, so my breath catches in my throat when Darius's palms are suddenly about my cheeks, rubbing circles along the skin there. I gulp, and my eyes suddenly grow very heavy.

I once vowed to never marry, to never have children. And I certainly vowed to never kiss a man, or let a man kiss me. And certainly not someone affiliated with the Capitol! But as Darius draws closer, I can feel the heat between us, can feel my eyes grow heavy, and I actually am anxious to have, actually want, his lips... on... mine...

He doesn't get there. Footsteps approach and he draws back before we can come together. A colleague of his opens the door, and Darius takes the liberty to escort me to the train, as I now feel in danger of falling down. But before I board, he gives my hand a comforting squeeze .

Smiling sadly, I squeeze his hand back.


	5. Chapter 4: Teaching the Deputy to Hunt

**Chapter 4: Teaching the Deputy to Hunt**

It's a few weeks before I see Darius again. I actually win the 74th Hunger Games and become my district's third Victor. This time, I see my favorite Peacekeeper in the woods. I stumble upon him literally struggling how to hold a crudely crafted bow as he fits a even more-crudely crafted arrow to it. When he accidentally lets go of the string and shoots a hole in his pack, I cannot help but laugh. I keep the smile on my face as I saunter over to him.

"Having trouble?"

Darius glances back and shoots me an optimistic grimace. "Oh, I'll get it right. But it may take a while."

I pace around him to get a good look at his bow. It's of average make, really, though clearly homemade. Still, I feel the need to inquire, "Did you make this?"

He grins sheepishly. "Horrible, isn't it? I didn't know what else to do. The fish have barely been biting, and I certainly couldn't afford a professional bow in town."

I shake my head. "It's not horrible. For a novice, it's actually a great first effort. It took my father years to perfect his bow-crafting technique."

Darius tries to lift the bow and straighten it. "You learned all your mad skills from him then, huh?"

I would answer him, if I didn't see how terribly off his stance is. The teacher in me prompts, "Feet shoulder-width apart."

Darius glances at me and obeys. "Now straighten that back." When he doesn't catch my meaning, I press my hand into the small of his back. I feel his skin tingle where my hand rests. I quickly move on.

"Tighten you stomach muscles. The most important thing a hunter needs to control is breathing." I have no choice but to demonstrate as I place my hands on either side of his diaphragm. I feel awkward. I've never been in physical contact like this with anyone other than Peeta. Unless you count John or that Drury fellow, which I most definitely do not. And besides, when I taught Peeta how to hunt, it wasn't awkward in the least, because we were already married. I focus on the man in front of me, trying to keep my voice and body language as casual as possible.

"Relax your shoulders and bring your bow arm down. Your body should be entirely streamlined." This time, Darius needs no prompting from me. I check his bow hand.

"Grip is actually good. Now, breathe in deeply, and release the arrow on the exhale," I tell him.

WHOOSH! The arrow flies and hits a tree dead-on. I smile at Darius.

"Very good! Even my first shot wasn't as good as that." Besides the fact that this statement is true, I find myself sincere in my approval.

However, my voice trails off when I realize how close his face is to mine.

Darius smiles back, his voice soft. "So, who's your better pupil: the baker's son or the poor Peacekeeper?"

My breathing becomes ragged. My heart is pounding in my chest; I can hear it beating in my ears. "You..." I whisper, even though I completely forget what he asked me. I barely register how my arms have wrapped themselves around his waist from behind. Darius's face inches closer. My eyes flutter, drooping until they are almost shut. My brain is screaming at me a reminder that I have never wanted this, and that we should stop now before... we... kiss...

Before our lips can touch, I tear myself away. The spell is broken, and I awkwardly clear my throat.

"It's late. I... I have to go. I better go!" Without even bidding him goodbye, I gather my game bag and turn tail for the fence and my home beyond. For the first time in my hunting career, I return home empty-handed.


	6. Chapter 5: 75th Reaping

**Chapter 5: 75th Reaping**

My first-year as a mentor is for a Quarter Quell, a special edition of the Games held every twenty-five years. The last time one was held, my mother was a teenager and our very own Haymitch Abernathy won the crown.

The twist this year is gruesome: two brothers must be forced to face each other in the arena. I am so glad I only have a sister, and that the twist makes her safe for another year. Prim is only 13!

We get two of the Baker's sons for our tributes that year. Peeta Mellark, the youngest, was a classmate of mine in school. When I still went to school. His brother, Rye... this was his last Reaping.

Darius waits outside the holding rooms with me and we chat. He thinks I will make an excellent mentor.

As Haymitch and I board the train with our tributes, Darius gives me a squeeze of my hand, which I think will become custom after the one he gave me last year. But he gives me something else as well. Something that leaves me very confused.

A peck on the cheek.

* * *

Both Peeta and Rye are killed in the Quarter Quell. Thankfully, brother does not have to turn against brother.

Unfortunately, the end of the Games must have displeased the Capitol in some way, for all the districts are punished with firebombs being dropped on them. The rest of Peeta's family is killed (with the exception of the oldest son, Leven Mellark) and so are the rest of the Hawthornes. Darius manages to gather a group of people, including Mother, Prim, Leven, Greasy Sae, and Thom (the Miner Foreman) and take them into the woods beyond the fence until the bombings let up.

Haymitch and I come home exhausted, and I am relieved to see that most of my loved ones survived the Capitol's wrath.


	7. Chapter 6: Many Years Later

**Chapter 6: Many Years Later**

I am now a woman in my early-40s. 41, to be exact. I still have never married. District 12 only has a smattering of people still living there. Maybe 100 souls. And I still have to mentor with old Haymitch Abernathy, year after year.

Prim is now in her-mid 30s, married to Leven Mellark and a mother of a small child. My mother is just about ready to retire as a Healer, and pass on the empire she has built here in Twelve onto Prim. As for me, I am an old maid, sure to die a virgin, unmarried and childless. But that's fine by me. I am Victor who does not want to be attached to anyone more than I have to be. I hunt, I mentor, I babysit Haymitch.

But I also continue to hang out with Darius. He is only 46. We still hunt together almost every day, and we have now developed an easy banter over many years of friendship, and just friendship. On this particular day, I find myself asking him something I have never asked him before. Something I really should have known long before this:

"So, were you born in District 12?"

"I was," Darius smiles. "My father before me was a Peacekeeper here, and also born and raised in Twelve. It is actually a pretty unique story."

"Why?" I ask, intrigued .

"Most Peacekeepers either come from District 2 or the Capitol itself. They are trained in special academies there from a very young age. The exception, of course, is if you are a district resident and you want to enlist. They put the common people, as they are known, through a very strict training regiment to become a Peacekeeper. Few residents of a district pass the Peacekeeper Trials. My father was one of them."

I find this fascinating. "And you."

"Well, that was because I was handling some of his smaller weapons by the time I could toddle. His policy was firm, but fair. Kind of a mix of Cray and Thread, if you will," referencing our past two Head Peacekeepers. "And often my stepmother..." But he stops short, as if he was about to reveal something dangerous .

"What happened to your father?" I ask.

I shouldn't have probed. His eyes grow sad. "He was murdered. Insubordination, they said. It was not until many years later that I would understand just what his insubordination entailed."

Despite the fact that I am now very curious, I do not press the matter with Darius further. We finish our hunt, and we part ways at the fence. "See you in the Village on patrol tonight!" Darius calls.

I find myself staring wistfully back at him as he runs off. At least Darius is a kindred spirit, as he stayed single like me. But I wonder why he couldn't have married. He is a kind person, and that's not something you can say really about any Peacekeeper.

* * *

I stop by the rebuilt Mellark Bakery, which now also doubles as Everdeen's Apothecary. This is where the rest of my relatives live. Prim and Leven are trying to fix dinner for their little son, Vincent, while my mother is working on a herbal concoction.

Mother does not even glance up from her work as she asks, "Did you have a good hunt with Darius?"

Oddly, this seemingly innocent question is making me blush. "Mother..."

"What? You've spent time with him even before you won your Games. Since you were a teenager. I'm surprised he hasn't proposed to you yet."

I gawk. Now she's really starting to make it explicit. "Mother!"

"He would make a fine husband, Katniss. And you like him, don't deny it. Why don't you just Toast the bread and get it over with?"

I glance over to see my sister and brother-in-law looking at me curiously. I scowl. "I have to go. Haymitch will be wondering where I am."

But I also have another reason to visit my drunken mentor, as confusing thoughts and even memories of Darius begin to cloud my judgement. Cloud my head and my heart.


	8. Chapter 7: Consult My Mentor

**Chapter 7: Consult My Mentor**

Haymitch Abernathy has not aged well. He is mid-60s now, my mother's age, and still drinking the liquor like it's water. This is what I find him doing at his kitchen table, as I barge in and present him with the share of the game I brought for him.

"Thanks, sweetheart," he slurs.

I've become accustomed to the nickname he gave me in my Games, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I just tolerate it.

"That Darius Pontipee fellow go with you again?"

I huff. "Yes. And I want to talk to you about him." But before I can, there is a knock at the door. I answer to find none other than Darius, here to check on Haymitch and me as part of his nightly patrol. Victors' Village has been a part of his rounds for years. Oddly, I feel butterflies in my stomach when I see him.

"Darius, hi," I smile.

He beams. "Two birds with one stone then. Fancy seeing the two of you in the same house. Weekly dinner or something?"

I laugh. "Of a sort. But Haymitch mostly drinks his food."

"Hey, I heard that!" Haymitch barks from the table.

"Good night, Katniss," Darius gives me a tip of his hat.

"Good night," I grin. I close the door behind him.

"Yup, you've got it bad," Haymitch observes.

I stare at him, though I shouldn't be surprised that he worked it out on his own. "How did you know?"

"You could do a lot worse, sweetheart. And you've been friends with that Pontipee boy for years. Besides..." and his eyes seem to be capturing some distant memory. "You aren't the first Victor to fall in love with a Peacekeeper. At least, from District 12."

I sit across from him, deeply curious. "Is this about...?"

"Cassiope? Yes, the rumors are true. She married a Peacekeeper entirely in secret. I was the only one at the ceremony; it was a few years after I won. And she married a guy named Adam Pontipee."

I gasp. "Darius's _father_?! Cassiope Fletch was Darius's _stepmother_?!"

Haymitch nods. "And poor bastard paid for it too. They all did. Adam was murdered by his superiors in the Justice Building. Cassiope shot herself with his gun out of grief. Darius was only a small boy; you were probably several months old. She met you once, you know. When you were a baby."

I sit back to digest this information. A Peacekeeper has married a Victor in this district before... and he paid for it with his life.

Haymitch nods. "So be careful, Sweetheart. I say: follow your heart. Go after him. Break the Victors' Code if you want to. But protect him at all costs."

I nod, understanding. I have to tell Darius how I feel. Maybe even ask him to marry me.

The only question is: how and when do I tell him?


	9. Chapter 8: Blossoming

**Chapter 8: Blossoming**

My feelings for Darius only grow more murky and confused over the next several days following my meeting with Haymitch. Even just thinking about or picturing the handsome Peacekeeper can send my heart into a total tap dance, make my palms sweaty, and induce shortness of breath.

I begin to obsess over what I might say if I see Darius again. Of course, I will have very little control over when these words will be uttered.

One morning, Mother is out on an errand, picking up a new shipment of herbs. Vincent just been put down for his nap, and the rest of my family has gone on to town early for the day, closing up the shop due to a slow influx of customers. I am alone.

Suddenly, the phone rings. I pick it up before the first ring is through, so as not to wake the kids.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Katniss. It's Darius."

My heart begins to pound furiously. For a moment, the monologue I have been carefully preparing to end this... whatever-it-is before it starts appears in my brain, only to then vanish, like a computer screen going blank.

"Hi. What's up?" My response nearly comes out in a croak.

"I was wondering if you had a free minute to meet me at the Peacekeeper barracks."

A part of me is suspicious of going over there, especially since Darius has not given me any details.

But another part of me - an excited part - urges me on. After a brief internal struggle between suspicious and excited, excited wins. Darius has suggested it will only take a minute. And even if it doesn't, Vincent is safe, asleep in his bed. Mother will be back soon. Besides, this isn't a date.

"I'll be right over."

I leave a note down on the front counter, that simply says I have stepped outside for a bit and will be back soon. I then steal down the back alley of the bakery, and make my way down to the Peacekeeper barracks. Darius is waiting for me outside.

"There's something I want to show you," he smiles when he sees me.

Curious, I follow him down into the barracks. We enter the hallway lined with doors, before walking through it and heading down a stairwell. We must be heading underground, but what would Darius have to show me here?

At last, we come to a gate. Darius produces a key and unlocks it, before then opening the door right behind this gate. He flicks on the lights once we are inside.

We are in a small locker room. On cubbies lining the walls, there are bulky suits that look like the ones worn by astronauts of old in space; I remember reading about them in school. Darius hands me one that looks my size.

"Put this on. You can wear it over your clothes. It's for your protection."

I find myself smiling at him, amused, before doing as he says. Darius also dons a suit.

"Ready?" he asks. His voice comes through in an artificial, echoey way from the helmet on his head. I nod through my helmet.

Opening the door on the other side of the locker room, he and I enter a metallic world. The room is long and vertical - it could probably fit several Seam homes comfortably inside. At the far end are what clearly look like targets. I look to my right and see automatic weapons and guns lined up on a rack.

This is a shooting range.

"I thought I'd show you where I usually perform target practice, and what I normally shoot with," Darius grins at my amazed reaction.

I turn to him with a smirk, amused. "Aren't only Peacekeepers allowed to use guns?"

"Well, since you are so proficient with bows, I think we can make an exception in your case," Darius waves away, handing me a semi-automatic. "I trust you."

For the next hour or so, Darius and I practice our shooting skills. He's right, of course - guns are not all that different from bows and arrows. As we fire round after round, we get to talking.

"How's the bakery?" Darius asks at one point.

I sigh as I let another bullet fly. "It could be a lot better." I don't know what power this man holds over me that makes me open up, but I do. "Leven and Prim have been... struggling with their finances lately. Sales have been down from what they used to be, and taxes are only going up, year after year. Keeping the business open and sending my nephew to school has made money tight."

Darius is staring at me, a concerned and sympathetic look on his face. After a moment of silence, he makes the most stunning offer:

"I don't know how much it would help, but I can always give you a cut of my salary monthly. If it would help pay the bills."

I hate owing people, which is why I almost always refuse acts of charity, out of guardedness and pride. But what Darius is offering to do - a Capitol official setting aside money for a citizen of his District! - is astonishing. My heart bursting with emotion from his generosity, I turn to him with an incredulous stare, even as I accept the donation. "Thank you," I whisper.

Darius smiles.


	10. Chapter 9: Reaped Again for the Quell

**Chapter 9: Reaped Again for the Quell**

"On the 100th anniversary, as a reminder that even the strongest cannot overcome the power of the Capitol, the tributes are to be Reaped from their existing pool of Victors!"

That was the 4th Quarter Quell twist that sent me and Haymitch back into the arena. With only two living Victors out of three total, District 12 barely fulfills the twist.

In the privacy of my holding cell in the Justice Building, I say goodbye to Mother, Prim, Leven and my nephew. After they leave, there is quiet. I want someone else to visit me, but he might not be able to -

The door opens, and in he steps. My heart beats faster when he closes the door behind him. He is dressed in his Peacekeeper uniform, yet he must not need to escort me to the train yet.

I have to smirk, "Not on duty?"

Darius doesn't answer. He merely takes my hand in his, and as we've done every year, he gives it a squeeze. "I'm sorry, Katniss. You have to win. You can win again!"

I look up into the face of this man whom I have come to love. I want to come back to him, but in an arena full of my old colleagues and Haymitch, many of which will be a lot younger than my 42 years, I don't know if I will be able to.

Is it just my imagination, or do I hear footsteps approaching? The five minutes can't be up yet... I shake my head to clear it, staring Darius dead in the eye, my expression a grim and almost straight-forward one.

"I'm not coming back this time. Kiss me," I order.

Darius hesitates for a moment, and then takes me in his arms. My Seam-grey eyes grow heavy as they gaze into his impossibly blue ones, our lips drawing closer. When he sees I have no intention of drawing away, Darius closes the gap between us and kisses me full on the mouth.

My fingers sink into his red curls and I pull him ever closer, kissing him back, my arms wounding lazily around his neck and then splaying across his back as the kiss deepens, becomes more passionate. Darius's hands move through the braid that Mother did up this morning, undoing it so that my brown hair tumbles down my shoulders in waves. Darius's hands then curl around my slim waist.

Meanwhile, Darius's tongue swishes out to tickle my bottom lip, demanding entrance. I acquiesce at the same time as he, as we both part each other's lips, and I slip my tongue into the split, playing with his.

Darius's hands grope lower. I allow him to touch my ass through the fabric of my blue Reaping dress, feeling me up. Seeing as no one has come yet, I begin to feel uncharacteristically bold as I raise my leg to his waist and hitch it around his hips. I press my body closer to his, so that I can feel his member straining through his pants and the folds of my dress. If he wants me, let him take me! I want to have sex with him, no longer die a virgin!

So the Peacekeeper Deputy, reading my consent, throws me down on the cushioned seat and mounts me, the untamed, shrewish, unweddable outlaw. I feel him push my dress almost up over my head, drop my panties down past my thighs and to my ankles. I hear a clatter as the lower half of his uniform falls away. Then -

I feel a bloated conqueror invade my most sacred of spaces and claim it for itself. I gasp at the pain, as I feel the shattering of my hymen at last, deep within the core of my womanhood. Darius pulls out, then thrusts again; with each one, pleasure begins to replace the sting of pain, and soon I am rolling up my hips to meet his as our increasingly sweaty bodies collide.

"Uhhh... Huhhhh... Hmmmmm... UHHHHHH! UHHHHHH!" I gasp and moan between desperate kisses of our lips.

At last, Darius growls and spills himself inside me. He kisses me hard, muffling my wail as I follow.

We break apart, separate and redress ourselves. By the time the lock turns in the door and the Peacekeepers responsible for me have come, Darius and I look as normal as we can be, hiding our disheveled appearance and mad coupling as if nothing had happened.

At the train platform, Darius gives me a final squeeze of the hand, and then, so fast, I almost miss it, never mind have time to give him one in return:

A chaste kiss on the lips.


	11. Chapter 10: Run Away With Me

**Chapter 10: Run Away With Me**

I win the Quarter Quell, after Haymitch gives up trying to defend his title and protects me at the cost of his own life.

The Rebellion is in full swing in Panem. I retreat to District 12 to hide.

Many of my fellow Victors who were not in the Quell are killed. District 12 is firebombed. The rest of my family – my mother, Prim, Leven and Vincent – are all tragically killed.

I am now at a point where the only person I have left to talk to is...

Darius.

The Rebellion continues for many months, but there is no decisive victory yet. The Games for the next summer have been suspended, to focus on the war effort, and I am at least relieved for that. The Peacekeepers sent to try and enforce Twelve do not bother with me up in Victor's Village.

So, I make a plan. I will slip off into the woods and run away. There will be no Reaping this year, so I won't be missed for anything. Gale always said we could do it. And I can do it alone!

Except I don't want to. I have one person who I would not mind having with me. So, the night before I am set to steal away, I leave a note outside my redheaded friend's door:

 _I am running away into the woods, Darius. I would like you to make a break with me, if you want the chance. I am leaving tomorrow night. This is me letting you know._

* * *

I dress in my old blue Reaping dress. Throw over my shoulders a cloak with a brooch. I check my gear and make sure I have all my supplies. Now I just have to leave for the fence and run off into the trees, never to return.

But when I open the door, I am stunned to see Darius before me. He is not in his uniform, but instead in a torn white shirt and some purple trousers. He has a knapsack slung over his shoulder. I cover my mouth and stare in abject astonishment.

"I'm coming with you, Katniss!" And Darius smiles as he takes his hand in mine.

I raise an eyebrow, amused. "The journey will be rough."

"I can handle it," Darius shrugs and I feel him step closer into my personal space.

"Danger everywhere."

I feel a hand go about my waist and pull me flush against him. "That too, I can handle."

"You have to do exactly what I say," I place my hands on his chest. "If I say, 'Set that snare', you say, 'How long?' If I say, 'Shoot that deer', you say, 'Medium or well-done?' If I say, 'Kiss me,' you -"

His lips crash down on mine, and I let out a choked squeak into his mouth. Followed by a purr of triumph. I part my lips for him and slip my tongue into his maw to play with his. My arms splay across his back, playing in his red hair. Darius's limbs go about my own back and waist, but he soon wanders lower, groping my ass and feeling me up. I boldly hitch a leg to his waist, raise my leg to his hips.

We have wild sex on my dining room table. And after we both come, we escape into the woods. After we are a far enough distance and I, my Peacekeeper lover and I share a passionate kiss, by the light of the moon. And Darius tells me for himself the story of how his father actually married the Victor Cassiope Fletch in secret. Inspired, I make a crude bonfire and we Toast the bread over it - District 12's marriage tradition. And we seal it with a kiss. Darius is now my husband.

* * *

We live in the woods like the Adam and Eve of that long ago story. We make our home in a cave miles from Twelve as Panem finally falls and becomes a democracy. Still, we do not go back.

Darius knows me and comes in to me and lies with me. He makes love to me until we conceive and bear two children: a boy and a girl.

And as I watch our family play in the meadowlands just beyond the mouth of our little cave, I appreciate how there are much worse Games to play.


End file.
